bill: also in the crowd that day was the reverend jeremiah wright. mike emanuel is live in washington. reverand wright became a controversial figure during the 2008 campaign. what did then senator obama say about him in that summer of 2007? >> reporter: he made reference to the trinity church of christ saying that's where he met reverend wright and introduced him to a man named jesus christ and mr. obama praised his long-time pastor. >> i have got to give a special shoutout to my pastor, the guy who puts up with me, counsels me, listens to my wife complain about me. he's a friend, and a great leader. so please, everybody, give an extraordinary welcome to my pastor dr. jeremiah wright, the united church of christ. where's he at. there he is. that's him. that's him right there. [applause] >> reporter: earlier in 2007 reverend wright had become a controversial figure and political problem but clearly in front of that audience mr. obama felt comfortable praising his pastor. he compared the response to katrina to the 9/11 attacks and florida. bill: what a